Hey all,

I haven't posted in a long time. I have owned my 2001 S for 4 years and love driving the car, but keeping the car running has been expensive. I had my engine rebuilt 3.5 years ago and it currently has ~27K miles on the engine (147K body and transmission). The engine runs well, but uses a lot of oil ( a quart every 800-1000 miles). The oil consumption concerns me regarding the longevity of the car. I know some oil consumption is normal and that AP1 tend to be thirsty.

Anyway I'm considering my next option. My heart says drive the AP1 for a few more years then buy a 2004 or 2005 with ~50 to 80K miles. While my brain says buy an ND2 MX5. I'm leaning towards the miata as S2000 parts especially long blocks will likely become far more expensive and rare.

I also considering driving my AP1 till it dies then swap an AP2 engine. I'm little concerned about getting a bad engine and throwing away $5K. Opinions or other options would be appreciated!

 

My wife and I just bought a 2019 MX-5 RF. The new engine is very nice (180hp) and really wakes the car up. Tilt/telescope steering wheel is nice, as are the bells and whistles of buying a new car. It needs a short throw shifter to make it really competitive.

But man, is it tiny! She even remarked about how much more room the S2K has (I own a MY00)!!

 

I have driven a 2018 ND1 and I agree it's tiny and I'm only 5'7". I was thinking I could pick up an AP2 in 2-3 years and an ND2 in 5 or 6 years. Not sure the wife would be ok with owning 4 cars between the 2 of us.

 

How hard do you drive it? They're normally incredibly reliable for a performance car. Why did it need the rebuild?

I have had two vehicles with high oil consumption, one was a 2011 BMW Motorcycle, the other was a 2007 Prius, both purchased new. The motorcycle has stabilized and doesn't need much now. The Prius got worse as it aged until I got rid of it.

 

Spirited driving no track duty. Needed a rebuild due to misfire and worn piston rings. It was likely starved of oil from a previous owner.

 

I'm planning on getting into a ND2 as soon as the depreciation curve stops on used examples. Considering the limited success rates of engine rebuilds, the parts/engine availability - or lack of - is hard to overcome unless Honda comes out with new short/long blocks. My S' "only" has 78k on it so it should be a long while before it needs rebuilding, especially with good maintenance, but there will eventually be a day.

While the engine is not as special as the F20/F22 the ND2 is just as fast around a track as the S and the off-track manners are much better in the ND2. The ND2 engine is peppy with good linear output to redline, the transmission is almost as slick as the S' (although I think the verdict is still out as far as reliability of the ND transmission) and the chassis/suspension has that Miata playfulness. It doesn't feel as raw as the S2000 but that just means its a better DD/street car. The ND2 is just the better overall package. Parts are easy to come by and should continue to be easy to come by for years to come. Mazda has been really good in providing legacy support for the Miata and RX community even though they are a much smaller company.

If Honda, given their resources over Mazda, gave as much effort in supporting their halo of halo cars it'd keep the S. We'll see whether short blocks show up on their 20th anniversary list of parts to re-offer to the community but as it is now, there's no good reason other than emotional attachment. <- which just means you need to get emotionally attached to a new platform, lol.

 

As for your S2000 I think you should do a leak down test and compression test before you continue driving the car and make decisions.

 

A leak down may provide some piece of mind. I have no intentions to stop driving the car.

 

I meant that differently, sorry
What I was supposed to say is that you should definitely get that done so you know what the culprit is if there is any.

 

I don't have any plans to get rid of the S, but if something were to happen to it, it probably would cost too much to find another good one, so I'd look a Boxster. Just not the turbo four bangers.

Other than that, I think a Miata is an obvious choice. Great car.